Author: Gugu Lourie
HERMANUS, CAPE TOWN – In an address at the SATNAC 2025 conference, Openserve’s Chief Network Officer Robert Jorge laid out a critical imperative for the telecoms industry: the future belongs to networks that are not just bigger, but smarter, greener, and inherently more agile. The core message was clear: to meet explosive connectivity demands and power technologies like AI and 6G, the industry must accelerate its journey from human-managed systems to intelligent, self-governing autonomous networks. Speaking on the topic “Scaling Open-Access Fibre to Build a Connected Future,” Jorge grounded his presentation in the tangible reality of operating South Africa’s largest…
Against the backdrop of a continent at an inflection point, the message from the Southern Africa Telecommunications Networks and Applications Conference (SATNAC) 2025 was unequivocal: Africa’s future will not be imported. It will be built. Hosted by Telkom under the theme “Africa’s Ascent: Towards a Sustainable and Resilient Future,” the conference became a test for a powerful new consensus. The continent’s digital destiny, leaders asserted, will be decisively shaped by three intrinsically African assets: its dynamic people, its sovereign data, and its unparalleled ability to collaborate across sectors and borders. The panel discussion, “Digital Sustainability – the African way,” moderated by Sello Mmakau,…
In an address at SATNAC 2025, Sandile Msimango, CEO of IHS Towers South Africa, issued a meaningfult call to action, defining the conference itself as essential or Africa’s digital future. His final message captured the essential spirit required for Africa’s ascent: “SATNAC is challenging us and continues to challenge us to think boldly, collaborate deeply, and innovate responsibly. And at IHS Towers, we are up for that challenge.” He concluded with a vision of the attainable future: “If we collaborate, if we innovate, and we commit to sustainability, then the digital future of South Africa and the continent will not…
HERMANUS, Western Cape – In a provocative and data-driven keynote that served as a critical reality check for the global tech community, Idit Duvdevany Aronsohn, Head of ESG & People Relations at global software giant Amdocs, delivered a key message at SATNAC 2025: the future of artificial intelligence is being authored today, and Africa must be a primary writer, not a footnote. Aronsohn based her argument around a single, powerful question: “Can AI be inclusive without Africa or without African data?” To a room of continent’s leading technologists, innovators and policymakers, her answer was unequivocal. “Not like my AI friend that…
HERMANUS, Western Cape – In a transformative keynote that challenged the very definition of digital progress, Gugu Mthembu, Chief Marketing Officer of Telkom, presented a compelling vision for a technology ecosystem built not for specs, but for the human spirit of Africa. Delivering a speech titled “Humanising technology beyond connectivity” at SATNAC 2025, Mthembu issued a clarion call to move beyond infrastructure metrics and place human dignity, opportunity, and agency at the core of every innovation. Mthembu began by acknowledging the rapid growth in African connectivity, where the number of connected individuals has more than doubled to over 400 million in…
HERMANUS, Western Cape – In a robust endorsement of its sustained impact, Raymond Crown, ICT Director at the University of the Western Cape (UWC), positioned the Southern Africa Telecommunications Networks and Applications Conference (SATNAC) as the critical engine ensuring the region transitions from a consumer to a contributor of global technological innovation. Speaking at the 2025 conference, Crown emphasised that SATNAC’s 27-year legacy provides the essential “discipline of continuity” needed to build South Africa’s digital future on a foundation of tangible research and proven partnerships, not abstract ideas. “SATNAC remains one of the few forums that consistently brings research, industry, and…
HERMANUS, Western Cape – In a compelling address that balanced ambition with caution, Dr. Mmaki Jantjies, Telkom’s Group Executive for Innovation & Transformation and Chairperson of SATNAC 2025, issued an urgent call for responsible innovation, stressing that Africa’s digital progress must not come at the expense of its people or planet. Speaking at the Southern Africa Telecommunications Networks and Applications Conference (SATNAC), Dr. Jantjies grounded the event’s high-tech theme, “Africa’s Ascent: Towards a Sustainable and Resilient Future,” in the continent’s stark realities of poverty, inequality, and unemployment. She argued that technology’s value is only realised when it directly addresses these foundational challenges. “As…
HERMANUS, Western Cape – In a keynote that reframed Africa’s position in the global tech space, Telkom Group CEO Serame Taukobong declared that the continent holds a crucial ethical compass for the development of artificial intelligence (AI). Speaking at the opening of the Southern Africa Telecommunications Networks and Applications Conference (SATNAC) 2025, which Telkom is hosting, Taukobong argued that Africa’s unique cultural richness and principle of Ubuntu must guide the future of intelligent systems. Taukobong’s address, delivered without the 25-page presentation prepared for him, struck a resonant chord with industry leaders, policymakers, and academics gathered under the theme “Africa’s Ascent: Towards…
In a dramatic reversal of fortune, Eskom has announced the successful conclusion of its 2022-2025 Board’s term, a period marked by a historic financial and operational turnaround. The board, appointed during the utility’s most challenging period, is credited with laying the foundation for a stable, profitable, and investable Eskom. Eskom Chairman of the Board, Mteto Nyati, reflected on a term defined by difficult decisions, steadfast governance and a recovery that has fundamentally reshaped Eskom. “Reviving Eskom was never a simple task, but one of national importance. The obstacles were significant, yet through the Board’s firm planning and governance and Exco’s…
Samsung becomes the official mobile and consumer electronics partner for SA Rugby’s national teams and the Vodacom United Rugby Championship (URC), aiming to fuse cutting-edge Galaxy technology with the passion of the game. In a major move for South African sports and tech, Samsung has officially joined forces with SA Rugby. The new partnership, effective from September for the Vodacom URC and October for the Springboks, designates Samsung as the official mobile and consumer electronics partner across all national teams and the prestigious league. The two-year agreement is positioned as a strategic alliance focused on enhancing performance and revolutionizing the…